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2007 Animals in their Environment - Winner

Paul Nicklen Click to enlarge Breath taking

Paul Nicklen (Canada)

Breath taking

'I was flying off the Admiralty Inlet ice edge of Northern Baffin Island, Canada, when I spotted these male narwhals. They were feeding under a very large, rotting piece of sea ice. When groups come up to breathe, they have to be careful to avoid hitting each other with their long tusks.' Narwhal whales swim long distances under the ice, using echolocation to navigate. Whales are mammals, and so need to breathe air just like us. They come up to breathe, taking a few breaths before going back under to feed on fish. The name narwhal is probably derived from an old Norse word nár, meaning corpse - a reference to the whale's colour.

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II + 100-400mm IS lens; 1/500 sec at f5.6.

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